24 Hours

In the past 24-hours I have learned:

1.  That when playing at the park with your kiddos it is possible to lose your keys on the playground.

2.  If you locked everything else up inside your car, including your cell phone, you can feel pretty helpless.

3.  Helplessness gives you the strength to approach a random fireman (who just so happened to be at the park with his company for exercise purposes). Random Fireman can use a shim, blood pressure sleeve and metal rod to unlock your vehicle. You still can't drive your vehicle, but at least you can call for help.

4.  Nissan can replace your lost key, but your vehicle must be present at their dealership.  The cost to replace said key is $239.00. The only way to deliver a vehicle with no key to the dealership is to have it towed.

5. My Mother-in-law once again will always rescue me.  

6.  Police Officers are nice and will randomly check your car left at the park overnight while patrolling the area (since of course the dealership closes before you could have it towed to them for the evening).

7.  A Tow Truck can find you at the park, but wedging his truck in between the rows of cars can be difficult. 

8.  Programming a new key can be a time consuming process that leaves you at the car dealership with two toddlers for 5 + hours.

9.  Suckers can carry you through this wait.  Long walks in the stroller through the rows of cars also helps.

10.  Finally when feeling totally sorry for yourself, open up to Chapter 2 of "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver and instantly feel peace.

Three

Today Ryder is Three.  Your day was all about Chuck E. Cheese (wow...we'll never forget this experience) and trains.  You've been waiting all month for it to finally be your day...for everyone to finally sing Happy Birthday to Ryder!  We had cupcakes at school with your friends yesterday.  When they sang Happy Birthday...all you could do was put your hands over your face!  I don't think I've ever seen you happier.  Your sweetness melts my heart!

This year you became a big brother.  You are an amazing big brother.  Your favorite part of the day is going to check on Rustin.  You always tell him Good Morning!!  Even if it is nighttime. You also like to tell him, "No No Ru-tin!". It really is cute.  

This year you started talking.  Really talking.  I went from being Mong, to Mommy, to Mom.  The phone went from Ba, to Bone, to Phone.  Rustin went from Baby to Ru-tin.  Ducks are still Gucks.  You gave up Blanket and acted like it was no big deal. 

You still love the Park and ask to go almost every day.  An Apple Juice slush is your favorite drink and a Chicken Nugget Happy Meal with French Fries is your favorite meal.  You can spot Mc-A-Donald's, Lowes, Target or Costco from a mile away.  Mickey Mouse is your favorite but you also love Olivia the Pig and Sesame Street.  Howdy Reveille is your favorite book.  We read it every night and you can identify the Meteorology Building, the Academic Building, The Century Tree, Sully, the MSC, Kyle Field, the Fish Pond and Yell Leaders.  That's pretty impressive little man!

I can't wait to see what 4 brings.  Love you Sweet Baby Ryder!

Out of the Mouth of Ryder

My sweet friend and one of my college roommates, Janelle, does the greatest posts called "Out of the Mouth of Tori".  Tori is her super funny little girl.  We've had a few "Out of the Mouth of Ryder" moments here today:


1.  "Mom!  Rustin went Poo Poo! Ohhhhh...Yuck.".
Actually he didn't. He dropped several pieces of his McDonald's Hamburger Patty off of his highchair and onto the floor.  Honestly, Ryder...you might not be too far off on that observation.

2. "Mommmmmmmm.... Where are the lemons?".
His response to my pitcher of lemonade Kool-Aid.  Ryder...I love you, but you will not be getting fresh slices of lemon in your Kool-Aid anytime soon.  Be happy we use Splenda instead of sugar.

3.  I heard him calling Dixie and he quickly ran and looked inside of his playhouse.  He turns to me and asks, "Mom, where is Dixie?".  I responded by telling him I wasn't sure.  He points toward the pasture next door and says, "Well, I think she is playing with the Cows".  I hope you're right sweet boy....

Update as of bath time:  All soaped up he says, "Yeah!  I look just like a Snowman!".

Dixie

Oh little Dix.  How your absence has broken our hearts.  You were our first little project together.  We got you when we were just engaged and still lived in College Station.  We named you Dixie after that little joint on University...the "Dixie Chicken".  You've been with us this entire journey...for our Wedding Day and for every first there after.

You've always been a little scaredy cat.  We took you in the car and you always climbed way under the seat....I guess that made you feel safe. 

We  took you camping and you huddled under our legs or got all oiled up in the bacon grease.  You would roll over in hopes that you might get a belly rub.

You have always loved your crate and if you weren't inside of it, you'd lay just inside our bedroom door.

You have always barked at the doorbell.  I can still hear your bark...but I know it will slowly begin to fade and I'll start to question it's sound.

You love your summer haircut.  You always run like crazy right after you get that thick winter coat shaved off.

Most people think you look like a little fox.  When I held you, you would wrap your two front paws around my arm.  You always sat right beside me. You would nudge my leg with your wet nose or front paw, my clue that you needed a pat.

I love your front teeth (weird, I know).  We used to lift your lips up and make you talk like a puppet.  You never got mad.

I could get down low and slap the ground with my hand and you'd run the other direction in a huge circle, finally coming back for me to do it all over again.

You always jumped at my back with your muddy paws right after I had gotten dressed for the day.  I took to saying, "No Jumping, No Jumping, No Jumping, No Jumping"...all the way to your food bowl.

You loved Ryder and Rustin.  You were our little vacuum cleaner once the boys came along.  As soon as dinner was over we'd yell for you to come clean up.

You went missing on Saturday.  We were gone most of the day running our weekend errands.  We may never know what happened to you Dix, but we do love and miss you something awful.  When I realized that You really weren't on the patio... that You really weren't just hiding in the boy's playhouse...that You really weren't huddled behind the lounge chair...that You really weren't pacing next to the fence...my stomach dropped.  When I realized You really weren't coming inside Saturday night, I melted.  I double checked your crate to make sure you hadn't been sneaky and run in without us seeing.  You've done that before.  I checked every room in the house.  I posted flyers less than an hour after I realized You weren't home.

I want the lump in my throat to go away and I want the hole in my heart to be filled.  I want You back sweet girl.

I know there were times that we probably seemed frustrated with you...especially after the babies were born but I promise that we have and always will love you.  We pray that you are safe and sound whether it is in the arms of a stranger or God himself.  Hugs and Kisses from your family.

Halloween-y Feelin'

I linked to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Night Special & Tatertots & Jello's weekend wrap-up party. Head over & join the fun!

Maybe it is that I am anxiously awaiting cooler weather, but I've got that Halloween feeling this week.  Crazy I know.  It is over a month away.  But just barely!

Overwhelmed by the sweet aroma of Candy Corn in Target yesterday, I couldn't resist picking up a few bags.  You can do so many things with candy corn, outside of the obvious...eating it!

Like this!  These topiary jars are fairly expensive at craft stores, but I found this one for $5.99 at Marshall's.  The glass lid doesn't fit exactly perfect, but you can't beat the price.

I made a tag for it out of scraps in my craft closet, after seeing an idea from Shelley Smith at House of Smith's. 

Target also has some great little spiders in the Dollar Bins. I picked up a few to fill another topiary I already had at home.  Here is a tip I have found through trial and error, fill your jar with something cheap like rocks or glass marbles to fill up some space in the bottom. 

  
Like this! 

Group it with a few other things and you have an inexpensive Halloween-y centerpiece for any room!

Cow

"Oh, the wonderful sounds Mr. Brown can do!  He can sound like a cow.  He can go Moo Moo "- Dr. Seuss

A Pink Barrel

Y'all know I'm a Mama to exclusively boys, so I jump at the chance to do anything "cute" for all of my nieces. Our little Anna or "Yanna" as Ryder calls her turned 3 over the weekend. 

She is my sister's little girl.  I'd introduce you to my sister with a picture, but for some reason nobody in my family likes their picture taken. 

Anyway...she loves to dress up.  We decided to revamp an old barrel for her to store all of her dress up clothes in. 

My sister and I actually used this same barrel when we were kids for all of our dress up attire.  It was previously covered in fabric.  I removed the fabric and Matt taped it off.  We sprayed it with a hot pink paint and then stenciled some polk-a-dots on it.  Such an easy fix!

Ways to Save

Am I the only one who sits down to balance our checkbook, pay the monthly bills and then stares at the computer in sticker shock?  Where does all of the money go?

I feel like we are a pretty frugal family, but my frequent shopping trips to Target prove otherwise.  We have a household budget, thanks to Mr. Dave Ramsey.   Unfortunately, Dave wouldn't be very proud of my Target bill lately.

Matt and I usually have a "State of the Smith's" phone call once a month.  About once every year to year and a half, we decide to buckle down and pinch every penny we can.  I scour our expenditures looking for things to cut.  The biggest thing we could cut is our total in the grocery line.  That got me to thinking about the best ways to save at the store.  Do y'all have any ideas to share?  I have done the Grocery Game in the past, but I always feel like a lot of her big saving items are things I wouldn't necessarily buy on normal circumstances.

I did some research today and found this Twitter feed.  It gives out coupon codes, but doesn't necessarily help my grocery bill.  The Money Saving Mom  and Freebies4Mom were also good sites I found today.  I'm on a mission to save y'all!  I'm going to break down and get a twitter account so I can follow some of the saving tweets.  I'll pass on anything I find and you please do the same!

Rainy Day Style

Tropical Depression Hermine, you can move on outta here, the rain has been nice but I am tired of being wet.  Ryder doesn't mind so much...he'll take any opportunity he gets to wear these boots and dance in the rain.  

Thank You! Love- Rustin

Did you know that today is my birthday? Of course you did, my crazy Mama has plastered it everywhere. Thank you so much for all of the love showered on me these last few days. My first year has been so much fun.

My Mom instantly fell in love with me.

 Ryder wasn't so sure about me those first few days.

He came a long way in just a few short weeks.  In the beginning I was simply his "baby", but last Spring he started calling me "Ru-tin".  Sometimes my Mom and Dad call me that, too.  I'm not trying to brag, but Ryder and I are pretty much inseparable now.

 

  Ryder helped me celebrate my very first birthday at McDonald's today!  Hooray! PS- McDonald's is our favorite restaurant EVER!  Ryder used to just call it French Fries, but this month he started calling it Mc-a-Donald's.   Ryder says they have the best French Fries, but I prefer a hamburger/no fries.  Daddy came home and we had a Cookie Cake together, his favorite.  I loved it, too!  Thanks to everyone who made mine and my Dad's Birthday so special! Love- Rustin

P.S....Here are my 1 Year Stats:
Weight:  19lb. 6 oz.
Height:  30.25 in.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to two of the best boys in the world today!

I remember a year ago today like it was yesterday.  How does a year fly by so fast?  Our sweet baby Rustin surprised us on his Daddy's Birthday.  He melted our hearts from the moment we saw him.  It was surreal.  He is surreal.  You are the sweetest, kindest, most loving baby. It hurts my heart to imagine life without you. You make tough days easy.  You make all the bad good again.  I wish I could bottle you up and keep you just the way you are.  I love you so much...Happy Birthday to my Baby Boy! 

 

Birthday Month

This is the month for Birthday's in our family. We celebrate 7 Birthdays over the next four weeks! We started out the celebrations yesterday with Rustin's 1st Birthday party. It was his Grandpa's Birthday yesterday, too.

I am a Cupcake Mama. Truth be told, I'm scared to make a full size cake. Cupcakes are easy, and if you mess one up you can just eat it! I can't tell you how many cupcakes I have eaten in the last 3 days. Needless to say, I only make my boys cupcakes on their Birthdays. Our little Rustin loves Dogs. I saw an idea for Puppy cupcakes and had to make them for his 1st Birthday. We added some red and orange cupcakes to put these super cute toppers on.  I ordered them from Silly Little Goose  which is a really cute little Etsy shop.

We baked lots of cookies with Grandma earlier in the week and put them out with the cupcakes.  Ryder loves to "Make". 

 

We opened lots of presents!

We ate lots of good food.  Matt got a new grill for his Birthday (remember that he and Rustin share the same Birthday).  He cooked up some mighty tasty burgers and hot dogs yesterday.  We washed it down with cupcakes of course.  Have I ever told y'all that Rustin can put away some food?  He can.  He devoured his cupcake.

We finished the night with pizza and s'mores on the back patio...we had put the camera away by that time.  Happy Early Birthday Rustin!  And to all our other Birthday's this week:  Grandpa, Granddaddy, Matt, Aunt Kristie and Cousin Anna....we love you!